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Basic Exercises
· Introduction
· ex. 1 - Make a page
· ex. 2 - Head & Body
· ex. 3 - Attributes
· ex. 4 - Text
· ex. 5 - Colors
· ex. 6 - Hyperlinks
· ex. 7 - Anchors
· ex. 8 - Graphics
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HTML TUTORIALS: FUNDAMENTALS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Background On The Internet:
The Internet is made up of millions and millions of computers interconnected through fiber-optics, phone lines, cables, and satellite feeds. When computers are connected in such a way, we call it a network. We will be concentrating on one aspect of this network called the World Wide Web.
The Web is a vast collection of information stored on hypertext documents. These documents are web pages, like this one you're reading now, that contain information and links to other documents on the web. They make research and data sharing possible, and effortless.
Web pages aren't limited to plain text information. You can place text, video, and sound into web pages.
Tools Needed To Access The World Wide Web:
The three tools necessary to have a World Wide Web are what we call Servers, Browsers, and Internet Service Providers.
Servers are computers where individuals and businesses put their web pages. Just like any business in the real world, each web page is given a unique "Web Street Address" so to speak, and we get to those locations by typing the addresses into programs called browsers.
The two most famous browsers are Netscape's Navigator/Communicator browser, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer Browser.
Lastly, we need to gain access to all of these servers. This is achieved by getting an Internet account with an Internet Service Provider. Think of the Internet Service Providers as being like the phone company. In order to call people, you need to get some sort of phone service. The Internet is no different. Examples of ISP's are Erols, AOL, and Earthlink.
I'm assuming that you already have internet access or you wouldn't be reading this page, would you? I'll just jump right into HTML.
Making Web Pages:
NOTE:
I realize that learning something new can make people anxious. However, HTML is very easy to learn if you stick with it and keep a positive attitude. I was always amazed at some of the things my students would say to me. Here are some examples:
"Oh, I wish I could make web pages like you."All of these statements are negative and show a lack of confidence. From this point on, I want you to never say "can't, wish, don't, hope, etc". I want you to say, "I will learn this!" Trust me, a positive attitude goes a long way. Anyway, on to the good stuff!
"Computers don't like me."
"I can't see myself making web pages."
"What if I mess up?"
"I hope so."
Web pages are created with a language that browsers can understand called HTML or HyperText Markup Language. Don't worry. HTML is not a complicated computer language like C++. It's simple English text and is very easy to learn.
Basically, HTML is a collection of letters or words, each surrounded by the "<" (less than sign), and the ">" (greater than sign). These special items, which we call, "tags", make the browser perform a specific task or function.
For example, every html page will contain an <html> html tag. When a browser sees this tag, it knows that the file is an html file and will display it inside of its window.
Most tags have a start tag and and end tag. Why is this? Because the browser needs to know when to stop doing whatever the start tag told it to do. Ending tags are the same as the opening tags, except that they have a "/" forward slash before the word.
For example, </html> would be the ending html tag because of the forward slash. Most tags have ending tags, but don't worry about that now. The more you type out HTML, the easier it is to remember the particulars.
For training purposes, we have provided you with a list of HTML tags that you will be using throughout the tutorials. We suggest that you print out a copy and keep it handy. Take a look and print out our List of HTML Tags (PRINT THIS OUT NOW. After printing, close the window that pops up and continue reading.)
Again, all it takes to build web pages is a positive attitude, and the ability to memorize tags, and some additional attributes within those tags. (We'll go over attributes later.)
NOTE:
Keep in mind that without online tutorials such as the ones I have created, in order to make and view HTML files, you would need to:
- Type out your html into an editor program such as Notepad(start/programs/accessories/notepad) or Wordpad on a PC, or SimpleText on a Mac.
- Choose File/Save As and save your file as a Text Document with a .html extension. (You need to save web pages with the .htm(Windows 3.1) or .html(Windows 95 and above) extension so that the computer knows that it is to be opened with a browser.)
- Launch your browser, and open the html file into your browser.
- Go back into your editor, make changes, save the file again, go back into the browser and hit the refresh button.
With my online tutorial, all you have to do is type out the html inside of a text box on the tutorial page, hit a submit button, and your web pages will appear in another browser window.
Why would you want to do this? It's faster and easier, that's why. You don't have to worry about learning the particulars of an editor program, nor do you need to worry about getting web space on some ISP to learn html. All you need is my tutorial. You can worry about those issues after you have mastered the basics. The last lesson in the html basics exercises will be show you how to create web pages using an editor program like the professionals do.
Im glad you read this far! From this point on, the tutorials will be straight to the point, hands on learning. I feel that the best way to learn something is to just do it! (Sorry Nike)
ONE FINAL NOTE:
99.997% of HTML errors are typing errors. This is one reason that I encourage you to actually type in all of the coding in the tutorials. Sure you can copy and paste the coding that I provide, but you will not learn as much or as fast if you do. I've typed html so many times that I often type tags faster than I can think them out. It becomes a subconscious thing!!!!
END OF HTML FUNDAMENTALS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
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